Miss Gillyflower is born!

Sitting on the beach on Captiva a month ago, little Miss Gillyflower was born, as was Lloyd, a very kind toad.  Who are they?  Well, they are two little creatures that I have some special plans for.  

My husband and I have decided that the timing is perfect for me to wrap up my teaching career - after almost 20 years.  I feel time slipping away and I have so many things to do . . . and try . . .  and learn.  So, here goes!  This spring when I walk out of the school building, I'll also hand in my key.  A teeny bit scary, but very, very exciting!

One of the projects I have in mind, is to try my hand at writing a children's book.  I know a book can take a long time to publish, so I'll be practicing patience.   Anyway, in all this time, I've learned a few things about children and what amuses them.  Animal adventures are on many a child's list of stories they go back to again and again.  A draft of the text is done and now I'm going to attempt to make the characters come to life. 

Miss Gillyflower

 The main character is Miss Gillyflower, a very young mouse, and this is my first attempt at sitting down to figure out just who she is!  Her very good friend, Lloyd, is a helpful, elderly, and kind toad who will see her through some scary scrapes.  So, here you go - a preview of two of the creatures I'll soon be spending a lot of time with!  I have big plans for these two, since they will be involved in much more than a story! 

And THAT is a hint at an entirely different matter . . .

Lloyd - he may look grumpy, but looks are deceiving.

 There are other creatures in the garden, just waiting to appear.  

They will be coming along soon . . .

One guest room done!

In thinking that I had a long weekend ahead (four days), my goal was to get enough done that I could post both guest rooms.  That didn't happen.  But one of them did get done.  

It's frothy.  

And feminine.  

And pink! 

 

 

When summer comes, and I have more time, I have plans for a headboard for the bed . . . 

This is a little framed piece matted in pink velvet showing an ad for my great-grandfather's shoe store!

  And a lacy potpourri bag I got with my mother while in Ireland.

I repainted the little table.  It was way too pink for me.  You can see the pink coming through the white on the table now - instead of the white coming through the pink!  

Here is the chandelier that came from the flea market in McKinney.

A comfy place to sit . . . slipcover is compliments of my mom, a master seamstress!

We are ready for guests!

This post is linked up with Furniture Feature Friday, and A Bowl Full Of Lemons home tour.

A Blessed Easter

We are ready for the kids!  

Eight of our grandchildren will arrive today and we're ready to celebrate Easter with them.

 Eggs in a nest are ready.

 A resting rabbit . . .

 Signs of spring are everywhere . . .

 Easter treats for each one . . .

Another rabbit . . .

And the Easter egg tree . . .

But there, in the background, is the real reason for our celebration. 

 The cross.  

We take time today to remember.

The tomb is empty.

Wishing you a Blessed Easter!!!

A pink room needs a pink table.

The sun in shining - finally!  We haven't seen the sun in our corner of Wisconsin for days.  It's also warm enough for hardy Wisconsinites to crack open a window or two.  It's been almost six months since that's happened.   It's inspiring! 

Progress is being made on the pink guest room - therefore, a peek at a pink table for this room.  I found this table at an antique shop about 30 years ago.  It had come from someone's lake home and had been painted a bright yellow.  Way back then I had stripped the yellow paint off and stained it.  This weekend the paint went back on.  I haven't decided what to do for a handle on the drawer yet - so for now a fabric pull will suffice.  This look isn't for everyone, but I love it.

Above and below are the before pictures.

A Bed Crown, Canopy, or Bed Curtain?

I remember a childhood friend who had a four poster bed with a canopy - she had such a pretty bedroom and I was so envious!  So, the time has come to bring that childhood dream to life and put some sort of a canopy in one or both of our guest rooms, and here are some of the inspiration beds I've been looking at.

 

 

 

This is a pretty look - minus the little lights on the flowers!

And this type of bed crown/canopy would be perfect for our guest room 
with twin beds.  I love, love, LOVE this look!
Well, we are on the brink of a nice, long weekend.  School will be closed on Friday and Monday.  So, I hope you'll come back on Monday night to see what I've done with the guest rooms.  Meanwhile, I'm planning a little Easter post for Saturday . . .

Painting. And not the fun kind.

Very frustrated right now.  All projects are on hold until I finish painting my project room.  I am not a patient person and trying to paint and organize a room like this, while teaching full-time, is a real challenge.  It's slowly coming along, but not nearly fast enough for me.  I hope to be back in business soon!  I found this quote which sums it up well.

"The creative person finds himself in a state of turmoil, restlessness, emptiness, and unbearable frustration unless he expresses his inner life in some creative way."

Well, that might be a little too intense, but, you get the idea.

Busy Organizing . . .

I've been busy lately - working on changing a guest room into a space filled with all of my "supplies".  I've been organizing all of my fabrics, craft supplies, papers, brushes, glues, paints, fabric stacks, beads, canvases, projects plans . . . you name it - so, I haven't been making anything because I'm too busy painting walls, sorting, and sifting.  I can't wait to have everything in place so I'm able go right to what I need, when I need it!  I plan on spending many a summer day in this room surrounded by orderly supplies, fresh flowers, open windows - it's going to be FABULOUS!  Here are some inspiration photos for some great creative spaces!  

I really want to make one of these dressmaker forms . . . this summer.

 Remember the ones from "My Favorite Room" in McKinney?


There are lots of instructions out there for making a dressmaker's form, but I love this article explaining the process!  I guess people have been making these from scratch for years!  Bravo, Cora!

 A place for everything and everything in its place!

 Fresh flowers from the garden - every day!

 Great tags for labeling boxes and baskets.

Something with lots of great drawers or slots for the little stuff. 

Such pretty storage jars!  I need to find some great jars from Goodwill, then print out some labels from The Graphics Fairy. 

A fun lamp or two.

 And some sparkly thumb tacks for a cork board.

A beautiful old frame for the chalkboard -

Bearing those sweet words that every child and teacher love to hear at the end of the year!

(Only 39 more school days until summer . . . but who's counting??)

Linked up with:

http://todayscreativeblog.net/

and

http://craftomaniac.blogspot.com/